


When the Stars Align (Dreams Don't Turn to Dust)

by fleurofthecourt



Category: Grimm (TV), Stardust (2007), White Collar
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Canonical Character Death, Crossover, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Pirates, Quest, Stardust AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-08
Updated: 2013-01-08
Packaged: 2017-11-24 05:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/630873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurofthecourt/pseuds/fleurofthecourt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nick Burkhardt learns that he is a Star-Catcher, he sets out across the mythical wall between his hometown of Port and the kindgom of Moonhold to save his aunt and learn the truth about his past. However, when he finds the star he's supposed to catch, he finds that it wasn't exactly what he'd bargained for, nor was he the only one looking.</p><p>Meanwhile, in Moonhold, Neal Caffrey, former pirate and current first mate in the royal navy, is crafting his own plan to catch a fallen star. Never mind that he's no Star-Catcher, it's the only way he knows to save the man he loves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the Stars Align (Dreams Don't Turn to Dust)

**Author's Note:**

> Moonhold neighbors Stormhold. Tristan & Yvaine may or may not make an appearance. 
> 
> If you are particularly fond of Aunt Marie, this is perhaps not the story for you.

_A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars or do we gaze at the stars because we are human?" Pointless, really. Do the stars gaze back? Now that's a question. ~ Stardust_

_Port, Present_

Nick pressed his hand into the wall. It met with harsh stone, and small scratches began forming on his palm and his fingers. The wall was as real as he remembered.

 _Port, 15 Years Earlier_

He looked down and watched as small, grainy pebbles of rubble cascaded down the wall as he reached up for the next makeshift handhold. The falling stone looked remarkably similar to an illustration from an unusual storybook that his aunt had read to him every night until he claimed to be too old for such things. 

The illustration had always stuck out in Nick’s mind because while he enjoyed the story, he had always found the ending bittersweet and dark. While it was true that it ended with a woman saving the life of her husband, he had always found the cost too great. 

_When the woman had discovered that her husband was dying of an illness for which her world had no cure, she had sought an entrance to another world. Once there, she asked three of the world’s dwellers what she should seek._

_In the first town, she asked a teacher what she ought to seek, thinking that if anyone could give advice, a teacher could. He told her to seek the soul of a fallen star for it would guide her to the right path. This seemed promising, but she had never seen a fallen star so she went on to the next town._

_In the next town she came to she asked a doctor what he thought she ought to seek, thinking that if anyone would know what to do, a doctor would. He told her to seek the blood of a fallen star for it could cure any disease, magical or otherwise. This seemed promising, but she had still never seen a fallen star so she went on to the next town._

_In the next town, she asked a trader what she ought to seek, thinking that if anyone would know where to find such a thing, a trader would. He told her to seek the heart of a fallen star for it could provide endless life to her and the one she loved. This seemed promising, but she had still never seen a fallen star so she went on to the next town._

_In the next town, she found a wise woman and asked her how to catch a fallen star. The woman thought her question over for a long time. Then she told her if she were to go on such a quest, she must be very careful for the stars were very dangerous. The stars could disguise themselves in the forms of the creatures they had been before they had been placed in the sky by the star-catchers, but their eyes would give them away, always glowing an unnatural red in their animal state._

_Undeterred, she traveled on until she found a red-eyed wolf. The wolf fled from her into the woods as she pursued. When she caught up to the wolf, he lashed out at her. She did not take this kindly, drew a knife and killed the beast. Then, she took the wolf back to her world. Much to her surprise, when she crossed the bridge back into her world, the wolf slowly dissolved into tiny grains of reddish brown stardust._

_Thinking her quest to have been in vain, she threw the dust and cursed the skies. As she lay weeping on the grass beyond the bridge, the dust fell back on her limbs which ached terribly from the journey. Every ache she had acquired instantly went away. Realizing the value of what she had, she gathered up all of the dust and carried it home to her husband. The two then lived happily ever after.  
_

As the reddish stone continued to coat his hands and then fall back to the ground, Nick could still hear his Aunt Marie telling him, “Never you mind,” as he asked, “But what about the wolf?” 

As he dwelled on this, Hank’s voice, asking what was keeping him from reaching the top of the wall, pulled him back to reality. The pair had been climbing the forbidden and mysterious Port wall that seemingly only overlooked the Port sea. The wall was a great source of mystery to the youth of Port because they had each slowly come to the realization that anyone who had completely gone through puberty could no longer see it. No one knew why. 

However, while the adults were oblivious to the wall’s existence, they were not oblivious to its presence. Therefore, recognizing that there was something inexplicable where the wall was, the adults put up a number of signs suggesting, as many are wont to do, that the unexplained was also dangerous. 

Curiosity and bull headed determination to prove to their friends that he could do it had led Hank past the signs and up the crumbling stone. Nick, unwilling to let Hank do it alone, had followed right behind him. Nick started to climb more quickly and readily took Hank’s outstretched hand when he neared the wall’s ledge. 

“No magic ships, huh?” Nick asked as he stared out into the distance. As far as he could see, the waves washing along the shore of the sea and the pinkish sun setting low in the sky looked much the same as they always did. 

“No pirates, no witches, no dragons,” Hank said. “I guess the rumors were never true.” 

“Did you really believe them?” Nick asked, smirking. “We should stay up here long enough to act like we know something though. It’d only be fair to future generations.” 

“True enough. What should we say we found then? A griffin?” Hank asked. Nick gave a short laugh. “Well, what would you say?” 

“A wolf star,” Nick said without blinking, realizing that the fairy tale had stuck with him in a way he couldn’t explain. He figured then, if he couldn’t undo what had happened to the wolf in the story, he could at least let its legend live on. “A star that can take the shape of a wolf.” 

Hank gave him a hard, questioning look. “Let’s just say we saw what the others saw; there’s no need to get complicated. And let’s climb down before it really starts getting dark.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Nick agreed easily, deciding it wasn't worth arguing about. Then, after Hank had already started his descent, a sliver of silver red light flashed in his eyeline. He stared disbelieving into the burgeoning night sky; there was a solitary crimson star shining through the twilight. It was just as he imagined the wolf star to have been before it had fallen to the earth. Although he knew it was just a story, Nick couldn’t help feeling like this particular star was alive. With several backwards glances, Nick warily made his way down the wall. 

The star, filled with curiosity, watched Nick. 

_Port, Present_

Nick, knowing now that he was the only one in Port who could truly see the wall, began to climb to see what really lie beyond it and learn for himself if his aunt's stories were really true. If they were, he could save her. 

_Moonhold Harbor, Present_

On the other side of the wall, in a small cottage not far from the Moonhold harbor, the curtains were drawn firmly shut against the fading autumn sun.

“I can’t tell him, El,” Peter said, drawing El further into his side. “He’s not going to be able to take it.”

El pursed her lips as she studied the man who had been a captain of one of her ships for fifteen years and her husband for twelve. His forehead had accumulated new wrinkles that she knew weren’t just from his unruly, tempestuous second in command. His brown eyes were fixed on the carpet of their living room, though she didn’t think he was really looking at it.

“Peter, you can’t protect him forever. You know that,” she said finally, looking defeated. She sighed as she rubbed her hand soothingly across his back, “If you don’t tell him, he’s going to find out on his own. And that will only be worse.” 

“You’re right,” Peter shook his head sadly as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss of gratitude.

“You can’t worry about him on top of everything else, hon,” El said as she curled across him. “You just can’t.”

“Just one more sea voyage, then. We can have one last adventure without him knowing,” Peter said as the hope and mirth that had been lacking from his features the past few days spread across them faintly. “He doesn’t have to know yet.”

“Is that really wise?” El asked, trying very hard not wonder if she’d prefer it that way herself. If she could have Peter Burke, whole and untainted by disease, for one last hurrah, would she want that? But she couldn't erase what she knew, and she knew it. She turned her thoughts back to the problem at hand. “He likely already suspects something’s going on. He could easily piece this together himself.”

“You know how Neal is. If he knows something’s wrong, he’s going to go off the rails. It’s for the protection of the royal navy as much as his,” Peter said with a dry chuckle as he started rubbing his hand against his forehead. “He’s had so much lose in his life already. And he’s never handled any of it well. If... when...”

El was glad he couldn’t bring himself to say it because she knew she couldn’t. It was bad enough that anyone had.

“He’s...he’s just not going to be okay,” Peter finished lamely, his voice cracking as El’s face blanched, as it had been threatening to do. “Not that you will be. I didn’t mean that.”

“I know you didn’t,” El said as she clasped Peter’s hand tightly. She knew what she was about to say wasn’t completely, or perhaps even remotely, true, but if the three of them were going to get through the next couple months, they would need to believe it. “Neal and I will both be okay. We’ll have each other.”

Peter pulled his hand away from hers for a moment, blinked distractedly, and then, in what she assumed was an attempt to lighten the mood, saluted her, “Aye, aye, Admiral.”

She gave a half-hearted laugh as he reclaimed her hand. Then she closed her eyes tightly wishing everything could go back to the way it was or that she could break down completely. But she needed Peter to leave for that, “Hon, why don’t you invite Neal over for dinner? Make sure he and Moz aren’t up to anything unto?”

*

Long before Peter left for the stately manor overlooking the Luna sea, Neal had expressed his unending frustration in knowing that something was wrong with his partner, and there was nothing he could do about it. But, worse yet, he wasn’t even being told something was wrong.

He’d always known what was going on. He and Mozzie had been spying on Peter and El, looking at records from the local physician, and checking El’s admiral reports. While El’s reports didn’t specify that she meant her husband, there was a general request for a future, lengthy leave of absence for a ship captain that suggested that the first mate would not be suited to take over in the captain’s absence. And, while Peter and El were doing their best to hide it, Mozzie and Neal knew them well enough to know they were falling apart.

Every time Neal brought the subject of Peter’s well being up, Peter abruptly brushed him off and reminded him sharply that there was work to be done.

“Or you could just tell him you know,” Mozzie said sternly. “He’s going to have to tell you himself eventually.”

“He’s been putting it off for as long as possible...” Neal said slowly as he carefully arranged hand- crafted glass stones across a chessboard. “And ...”

Neal couldn’t put the words together, even in his head. He knew they were there, of course. But he’d already lost the first woman that he ever loved and the woman who had raised him, whom he’d considered his mother. He couldn’t lose Peter too. It was unfathomable.

Peter was his anchor, and without him, he’d drift out to sea, floating aimlessly, with no real thought of return. As long as he’d worked with the royal navy, he’d respected the curt acceptance he’d received. It had only been expected. He was, after all, an infamous lightning pirate, and former captain of his own, albeit stolen, ship. Without Peter, he imagined he’d be hard pressed to not fall back completely on his old ways.

And Neal knew that with the current state of things, he was half there already. He was just waiting for Mozzie to take the bait --because loathe as he would be to admit it, he cared about Peter too-- and suggest what he was already thinking, “We ought to brush up on how to catch a falling star. But it’s not going to be easy. We aren’t exactly Star-Catchers.” 

“Well that’d be hard to achieve, Moz,” Neal said. Under different circumstances, on the cusp of concocting such a risky plan, his smile likely would have turned devious. But right now, he held his lips firm, just barely preventing them from curving downward because he knew he was about to do things for Peter that Peter would never want him to do. “They’re just legends.” 

“That’s what they want you to believe,” Mozzie said. 

Mozzie was right. That was precisely what Nick Burkhardt wanted them to believe, but that was mostly because that was what he wanted to believe. He hadn’t yet accepted that he was one. After all, his aunt had only just given him the book that very night.


End file.
